Identical
by Romanae
Summary: There is one thing that I loved more than my father.. And that was my long dead twin, Alice. I miss her so much. She is my other half... But someday, I WILL see her again. Alices twin POV. Reveals Alice's past.
1. Prologue: Together

_As I looked into my identical sister's eyes, we felt it coming. We tried to look away, to somehow block this terrible gift, but it had never worked. Why would it? We are the cursed twins, the evil twins. We deserve this. Ad we will always pay for what our mother did to conceive._

It was our birthday today. We were turning 16, and we were so scared. Whatever happened to us at birth, whatever foul monster that my mother turned to, he was coming for us. Fast. And so, as we looked into each other's eyes, we saw in a vision, in a curse, what would happen to each of us. Our futures. Alice and I screamed, and all I could see was the happiness of her future, and the bleakness of mine. And that was when we both collapsed, falling deep into our psyche.


	2. Hospitalized

I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was in a white room, decorated only by a single hard cot. It was windowless, with one door. There was something off about the door, and as it clicked open, I realized what was wrong. There was no handle on the inside. When the doctor - as this young, unnaturally pale man obviously was - came in, I realized where I was. The much-threatened asylum for the mentally unfit. On the bad days, we could hear their screams all the way from our house. I missed my mother already. She wasn't the one who wanted us here, it was the man we called father. Ever since our visions caused us to catch him robbing my mother of her family heirlooms and selling them, he had resented us.

The doctor cleared his throat. As I gave him my attention, my breath hitched. He was beautiful. He had the face of an angel… a familiar face. Was that my nose? And why was our hair colour identical? Then it hit me. He was the Monster. The one who had caused Alice and I all our pain. I hated him, hated him. The yearning I felt to discover more of this man was banished. I didn't need to know. All that I needed to know was how our gift worked, where Alice was, and how to stop my future from happening. Then the Monster spoke.

"Anna…. You are as beautiful as I had hoped. I assume you know why you are here? Your gift? Well, I think that it is time that I explained myself to you. Sit, please, this may take a while.

I have always known that I was different. I wasn't always like this, you know. I used to be dark, with human features and a human heart. I used to love your mother. However, she met someone else, and I loved her enough to let her go. She was unable to conceive with him, so I let her use me, until she became pregnant." At this, his ruby eyes darkened. He continued "I have a confession to make. I knew that you would receive my power and that the family line would be continued in you. One thing that I did not see, however, was that you would be twins. Now, your powers are too much for you to handle, so we must separate you. I am so very, very sorry. It is for the greater good. Now let us get back to business. To put it bluntly, you are more powerful and have more control than Alice. I suppose that this is because you always fought to keep your power away while Alice embraced it, giving you more power over it. Because of this, I have decided that you alone will join me in immortality. Lice will have to wait a few years, until she is emotionally ready to join us."

I couldn't believe my ears. This man wanted me to join him? In immortality? I had understood that Alice and I would live a long time; our visions had told us so, but to live _forever_? This was too much. I ignored the Monster, curled up into a ball and let the dark oblivion claim me.


	3. A fathers love

Time passed. I refused to see the Monster until he let me see Alice. He refused to let me see Alice until I had turned into... whatever he was. He came in one day, ignoring my protests. "Anna. Stop this... this... CHILDISHNESS! You are too old to play these ridiculous games. Come now, whether you want it or not, it is time." As I realized what he meant, my eyes widened. "No! No no no no no! I won't let you! If you really love me like you say you do, you will give me more time. I don't want to be a... a.... VAMPIRE!" The taboo word that I had forbidden myself to even think came bursting out of my lips. I shuddered, thinking about all of the innocent humans that I would have to kill. The Monster came closer. "Before I turn you, would you like to know my name?" I shook my head at him. I wanted to know nothing about this thing, this hideous man that claimed I was his spawn. He spoke anyway, and I learned the one thing about him that I never wanted to know. "They call me Caius."

I burned. There is no word that can describe my pain. Torture, flaming, burning, agony, all seem mundane and nothing compared to the burning. It took days and days of this for the agony to fade away, or so I am told. The pain was breathtaking. I had no idea how long I was under; I just knew that I wanted it to stop. Caius was with me the whole time, and I cursed him. I told him that I would never forgive him, that I would run away as soon as inhumanly possible. He just held my hand and looked down at me with concern and love in his eyes. The pain slowly, oh so agonizingly slowly, faded away. When my heart stopped beating, he looked down at me. It was all I could do not to punch the Monster in the face. What had he done to me?!

He told me more about myself. As it turns out, I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't have the ability to procreate. That was one thing that knocked me down – I had always wanted children, somewhere in the future. It took me weeks to come to terms with my new self. I had wildly roiling emotions, and couldn't stop myself from killing huge amounts of humans, filling myself with the delicious elixir that they so conveniently created for me. I grew stronger, and began to resist the mindless killing. I didn't like it, but believed it necessary. So, I started going hunting by myself, looking into the future of everyone that I killed. If they wanted to die, or they were cruel, or they had terrible, unhappy lives, I did them a favour. If not? I left them alone. They didn't deserve to die and I was anything if not heartless.

One day, about 30 years after I had been turned, I asked Caius when we would see Alice. That was when he told me the hardest truth I have ever heard him utter; it forced its way out of his body as if he wanted it out of him as soon as possible. The news crushed me, hurt me, and left me bleeding. "I'm sorry my lovely; she died in the asylum some 25 years ago. I didn't let you know because I didn't want to cause you pain..." A strange keening sound filled the room of our glorious mansion in Italy. I realized, with a strange detachment, that it was me. My heart was breaking; the one person that I had loved in my human life was dead. I fell to the ground, my eternally 16 body failing me for the first time in 30 years. I looked to the future, and saw blackness; but then, I never have been able to see anything about Alice. I ran, and ran, and ran.

When I reached the asylum graveyard, I found her grave. "Mary Alice Brandon", it stated. It was wrong. Her name may have been Mary, but she hated that name; she was Alice, ever since we were babies. I crumpled in a heap, dry tears bursting out. The last thing that I noticed before giving myself over to grief was Caius pulling me into his arms, trying in vain to comfort me.

The next time I resurfaced, it had been nearly a week. I pulled myself up, mentally slapped myself. Alice wouldn't want this, I told myself. So, I returned to Caius, the only loving father that I have ever known. He was sitting in his study. I had grown to love him over the years; His laugh was contagious, and he laughed often. He, too, hated the killing of humans, but knew no other way to live. He loved me too, and after our bad start, we became as father and daughter should be. I loved him so much.

One day, soon after my breakdown, he called me to him and told me he had a proposition for me. "Anna my lovely. You know that I work with the Volturi." This was a touchy topic with him; I thought that the punishments were too hard, while he maintained that the breakers of the law needed to be made examples of. So, to avoid an argument, I simply nodded my head. He continued "Aro has been willing to meet you for many years now. I think it prudent that you come with me to work tomorrow. Will you look to the future for me? I know it is hard for you, but I really need to know how this will go." He was right; it had been getting increasingly hard for me to look to the future. He suspected that it was like a muscle, and if I did not exercise my talent, it would soon leave me for good. I did not care; without Alice, my talent bored and frustrated me. So, with a heft of my mental defences, I looked to the future. It came to me in a series of flashes.

_A tall pale man with dark hair, so beautiful... Three empty thrones... Four thrones, with a young woman that I could not quite see in the newest one, seated next to Aro... The new woman, her features blurred so that I could not see her clearly, marrying Aro... _

I surfaced with a gasp. When questioned by Caius, I told him that everything was to go well, and that I needed some time to think. As I retired to my room, I thought over this new girl. Her life would obviously impact mine in some way, or else why would I have seen her? And, more importantly, why couldn't I see her? I was not used to my gift failing me. I went back to Caius, telling him I would go with him tomorrow, and then sat talking with him about inconsequential things for the rest of the night.


	4. Delicious

When the new day dawned, I got ready to meet my father's equals, the rulers of the vampire world. I was worried that they would not like me, so scared that I was almost sick – as if that were possible. I chose out my outfit carefully. For the first time in 30 years I looked in a mirror. I had never wanted to know what I looked like in a mirror during my human life – a quick look at Alice told me well. When I was turned, I occasionally saw glimpses of myself, but sensing that I would never look like Alice again, I avoided my reflection. Now however I looked; and was stunned. I must have spent more time in the asylum than I thought. My hair reached down to the backs of my knees, thick, black and luxuriant. When I had been human, it had only reached my waist – however, our hair had always grown fast. I remembered Caius telling me that at the asylum they kept peoples hair short, but that he had made sure no-one cut mine off, so that when he turned me I would still have beautiful long hair. I only hoped that Alice was looking down on me now, her long locks flying in the winds of heaven. I wondered why Caius's hair had changed colour as he got older; I soon dismissed the thought as I looked at myself with awe.

My face. What to say? It was just like any vampires face: stunningly beautiful, with just enough of Alice in my features to make my heart ache. No blemishes, only smooth, pale perfection. I was short, but I already knew that; Alice and I had always been tiny. I was lithe and athletic looking; I reminded myself of the fairies that Alice and I went hunting for when we were children. I dressed myself then, in a long flowing purple gown. It was tight in all the right places while still being loose in others, enough to make it look like a waterfall of fabric cascading down my body. I wore black earrings, a black onyx choker and black stilettos that made me look eight inches taller. The dress skimmed the ground as I walked, making me look as though I was floating. I curled my hair, and it flowed down my back like a dark waterfall. I added smoky eyeliner and eye shadow, and deemed my eyelashes thick enough without mascara. I was ready, and beautiful, for the first time in my life.

As a skimmed down the steps toward Caius, his eyes bugged. I giggled; Caius surprised? There was one thing you don't see often. The man could, of course, read the future. He took a long look at me, and to my surprise, a dry sob escaped his lips. When I questioned him, he looked at me with pride and love shining bright in his eyes. "It is only, my dear Anna, that I never saw how beautiful you could be, and how sad you were before now, to have never looked at your own reflection." I laughed, and looked him in the eye, and said "Caius, I wish you could see this from my perspective. Now is the time to be happy, to celebrate, not to mourn that I was unhappy! Come, let us go to the Volturi; maybe that will cheer you up." I spoke with a smile in my voice, and so he offered his arm and we ran.

We were there in a matter of moments. As Caius opened the door for me, the huge room with the vaulted ceiling cried out to me. And I became lost in a vision that was not my own.

_The huge room filled with sunlight, all archways open, rows upon rows of huge windows with the sunlight spilling in... Vampires sparkling in the sun, smiling and laughing and feeling warmed...marriages and funerals held in this great hall while Aro, Marcus, Caius and the new, young, unknown, vampire bride watched over benevolently... _

I gasped, coming back to this reality with a bang. The room was cold and gloomy, the archways walled shut with dark concrete. There were only three thrones and Caius took his place in one of them, not having noticed my vision. It was as I watched him take his seat that someone else from one of the thrones stood and came close to me. The beautiful one with the long, dark hair took my hand, kissing it. "Hello my dear child; Caius has kept you from us for far too long. Who are you, that you and only you can make him so animated?" I replied, keeping my voice level, "My name is Anna Margaret Brandon. You may call me Anna. And may I ask who you are, kind sir?" He looked at me, his eyes burning like fire. "I am Aro, and I am very, _very_ pleased to meet you." I looked at him, really noticed him for the first time, and saw that he was beautiful. He was probably around 30/35 when changed, but by now he would be thousands of years old; compared to him I was a mere stripling. But he was so lovely to my eyes, I never wanted to stop looking at him.

Caius cleared his throat. I looked away from Aro, startled; this delicious man had distracted me. I decided to make a peace offering to my father, one that would bring me closer to Aro at the same time. I took a deep breath; what I was doing was dangerous. Did I really want to do this? I looked deep inside myself. If it would bring me closer to my father, I would do it. A nagging voice inside of me said: _don't fool yourself. You've just fallen in love with Aro, Aro who you have foreseen marrying a young woman! And that young woman certainly won't be you. _Pushing those unpleasant thoughts aside, I spoke. "Aro, Caius, Marcus; I have a gift that I would like to offer to the Volturi." Caius gaped; he never expected me to join the ranks, although I knew he always wanted to. Aro spoke. "Young one... Anna, what is your gift?" I shuddered with pleasure as he spoke my name. And replied "I see the future Aro, on demand." He, Marcus and Caius smiled. They spoke as one, sounding uncanny; "Anna. Welcome to our ranks."

**A/N:**

**Hey guys. Review review review! I pretty much know what is going to happen, but if anyone wants to know anything about the characters and thinks I should include it, tell me! I will update soon my readers =]**


	5. Moonlit beach

I retired to my house soon after being recruited into the Volturi. I was overcome by what a huge step that I had made on impulse – what had I been thinking? Just because my father wanted it, doesn't mean that I have to. He would never force something like this on me. And then I remembered the look of delight on Aro's face as I joined, and knew that I would do it again in a heartbeat; well, not my heartbeat but the intention is the same.

Feeling this way was new to me; all that I could remember, in my vague, mucky human life, was seeing a nice young boy and wondering if one day I might like to be married to him. I had never even thought about love; I never had reason. Now I wondered if one day I might love Aro, but I knew in my heart of hearts that he would never marry a young cast off like me.

A few days went by, and all that I had to do was look into the future to see how a few raids might possibly go. It wasn't hard at all, but everyone seemed impressed with me. To be perfectly honest, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with all of the attention on me; I just wanted to be alone to grieve, for indeed I still grieved over the loss of my dearest friend and sister, Alice. As I was retiring to my room after one such vision, I heard Aro call my name. I twirled around, my red skirts billowing around me. I loved to wear ball gowns, and so I did; today's was red and boofy, but it was still flattering and I loved it. A shiver ran down my cold spine when Aro asked if I could speak to him in private. We went out to a restaurant and ordered food – the choices barely thought about, as we wouldn't be actually eating anything.

We talked about inconsequential things for an hour or so, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. As we were ordering dessert, I looked up into his brooding eyes. He was looking up at the ceiling, telling me about the intricate chandelier that he had helped create. My Aro was a man who did everything; a jack-of-all-trades. I hated this. How could I be crushing on the leader of the Volturi? He was the king of all vampires. There was no way that he would ever want someone as young, as broken, as _boring_ as me.

He paused in his monologue. "Are you listening?" I blushed. I had zoned out while staring at his wonderful face and wondered about his skin. It had a different texture to mine, and looked paper-thin. I wondered if I could touch it and find out... No, Anna. Stay calm and be friendly. A friend is all you will ever be with this man. He reached to touch me, to read all of the thoughts that I had had. I jerked back; I didn't want him knowing my thoughts on him. I couldn't bear his pity. He looked shocked and hurt, and I reassured him that it wasn't him. "Oh, Aro, I'm sorry; I just... Want my mind to be private right now." He replied "Well okay Anna. Only for you" while he smiled. I imagined that some people would think it strange, a 17 year old liking a 30 year old. But it happened very often with our kind – after all, looks have nothing to do with age. And when you live forever, age begins to mean very little to you.

As Aro paid, I walked outside into the cool night air. If I had been human, I may have shivered; as a vampire, I simply breathed in the deliciously scented night air. I made my way down to the beach at a light jog, knowing Aro would track and follow me easily. When I got to the moonlit and oh so still beach, I took my heels off and enjoyed the feeling of the sand in between my toes. When Aro came walking down at a leisurely pace, I huffed impatiently at him. He was taking ages! He laughed at me, the pure notes reaching into me and pushing buttons I didn't even know that I had. I wondered if Aro liked swimming, and quickly so that I didn't lose my nerve I said "Aro; will you come for a midnight dip with me?" he answered me, but not in the way I had expected; he took off his dress shirt and ran to the edge of the water. He was perfect, muscled and the man for me. I shook those thoughts out of my head – he must be uncomfortable, standing there in only his pants with me ogling him. So I stripped to my undergarments, a pretty matching black silk set. As I ran to the water, he looked at me and said "My dear, you are the most beautiful vampire that I have ever seen."

My eyes widened and I took a defensive stance, waiting for him to cut me down. Surely he couldn't be serious; there must be some hidden barb in that comment? He came closer, and then pulled me into his arms, cradling me tenderly. "Shhhh, I meant no harm. Why are you so wary of me?" I looked up at him, and deliberately touched his face saying "You have my permission." As he looked into my mind, a range of emotions played across his face. Surprise, regret, anger, and... No, it couldn't be... love? He looked down at me after a few moments of reflection on my thoughts and, to my extreme surprise and delight, leaned in for a kiss.

As our lips touched, I was sucked unwillingly into a vision. I went kicking and screaming; I wanted to remember this moment, not be blank and mentally gone. However I had no choice and was drawn into the most wonderful vision I could ever imagine.

_I was in the chapel where I had seen the girl and Aro get married. As I got closer the girl became more and more defined until it became clear that the girl was me.... I see a vampire who comes to me many years later, one who has the power to humanize all around him... I see me with sets upon sets of twins, each growing to adulthood before I give birth again... I see me and Aro, happy as can be, as a banner overhead reads "Happy year 3000!"_

I came out of a vision with a gasp, to see Aro looking at me with love in his eyes. I realize that he has read all of this vision out of my head, and he looks very happy about it. He picks me up and twirls me around, murmuring sweet nothings into my ear. As we consummate the beginning of our supposedly long and happy relationship, one thing sticks in my mind: why did my bridesmaid look like me?


	6. Fresh Start, New Blood

**Hey guyys, sorry about the wait. Review me - at least so I know you are reading =] Enjoy!**

As Aro and I walked home from the beach, I wondered how I was going to tell Caius. I knew he would not be pleased; in his eyes, I was a mere child who knew nothing of love. At age forty-six, however, I disagreed, and knew that I would fight for Aro.

This line of thought paused abruptly when I remembered what I had begun doing for the Volturi. The scenes that I had already witnessed disgusted me; I felt that the Volturi showed no justice. How could having a "trial" work if all of the people who have supposedly done the wrong are completely incapacitated, and have no way of defending themselves? I knew that I had to find a way to convince Aro, as soon as possible; there was no way that I could do this for the rest of my existence. I had already "seen" enough vampires ripped apart to last me a lifetime.

On the way back, Aro noticed my thoughts – I had never been able to keep them from showing on my face without supreme effort, and at that moment I was far too distracted. He pulled me to a stop and cradled my face in his hands. "Anna, honey, what is it? Why are you unhappy?" I tried not to look him in the eyes, but he was... Well... Magnetic. I looked up at him, my tiny frame at least a foot shorter than him, even with my magnificent heels on. As I tried to think how to phrase my thoughts, I realised there was a far easier way. I told Aro "You can look. However, if you don't like what you see... don't be mad." He smiled, and his eyes grew unfocused.

When he came back to me, I looked away. I simply couldn't face him, not after he knew the treacherous thoughts that had been going through my mind. He moved his face down and across, until I was forced to look at him. "Anna... I still love you. Everyone has opinions, and I can't expect you to drop yours for me. If anything, I look forward to having someone unafraid of me, someone who I can verbally spar with – it has been far too long since anyone looked at me without fear." I looked at this man, the one who was so complex. I barely knew him, how could I love him? And yet I did. And so, my qualms soothed for the moment, we made our way to my new home.

I knew, without Aro telling me, that he wanted me to move in with him – and so I did. However, with the new penchant that I had for shopping, he ended up grumbling to no end when he had to buy me three new wardrobes – what? Was there something wrong with wanting a choice in what I wore? I also now wore no shoes but super-high heels, which Aro seemed to enjoy. I often wandered around nude but for my heels, and then denied him the pleasure of my body, just so that he knew that he wasn't the only one with power. I was loving living with Aro.

As time progressed, I wondered when Aro was going to tell the rest of the vampires of our relationship. Everyone in Volterra knew, but when was he going to send messengers? I began to wonder if he was ashamed of me. In response, I spent more time looking into mirrors, trying to find out what was so shaming about me.

As I looked into the mirror one day when Aro was needed and I knew I would be alone for a few hours, I examined myself closely. I had I high, smooth forehead; pale as snow and perfectly domed. My nose was aristocratic, but slightly snub, giving me a cuteness that stopped me from looking dispassionate and cold. I had high cheekbones and enough fat to fill out my cheeks nicely. I had full lips, and perfect teeth. My hair was long, black, thick and silky smooth; I wore it in soft waves, cascading down my back. I was not stunning for a vampire, but I still looked amazing compared to a human. I looked at my long hair, suddenly hating it. It was the only thing I could change; and so change it would.

When Aro came back into our rooms a few hours later, I was sobbing in the bathroom. I had changed for the better, it was true, but now I looked even less like Alice; and with that thought I started wailing with a new vigour. Aro looked shocked but quickly came to my rescue, touching over my thoughts to see what was wrong. He managed to quiet me and we sat in the bathroom, me curled up on his lap like a kitten... with white-blonde hair. "Anna. She will always be with you, you never need to worry about that; wherever she is, she is looking out for you. I promise." As I looked up at my king, my knight in shining armour, I asked "How is it that you always know the perfect thing to say?" He just laughed at me and crushed me to his chest.

Hours later, after talking about Alice and how I missed her for hours (I don't know where he gets the patience to deal with me, honestly I don't) he picked me up effortlessly and sat me down on a small stool. He started brushing out the tangles in my newly-coloured hair, and I could have wept at how tender he was with me. Well not wept; but still. I loved him so heart achingly much.

After he spent the night showing my just how much he loved me, he left to go down to the main room early. I drafted around for a few hours, getting showered and dressed. I fed as well, killing two future rapists and a paedophile. Dickheads. I have done the world a favour. As I made my way back into the palace, Aro summoned me. Curious, I went into the main room, and promptly fell over from shock.

Where there had been three thrones, there were now four; two main ones in the middle and one to either side slightly farther back. On the new throne, which was a damn sight more elegantly feminine than the other three, was a beautiful ring. I looked at Aro, and he got down on one knee. "Anna, I love you; will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" I simply nodded; I couldn't bring myself to speak, I was just so happy. He walked to me with the ring in his hand, and picked up my wedding finger, sliding the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly.

It was the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen, before or since. It was made of platinum, engraved with a flowing pattern of flowers, studded with emeralds, rubies and sapphires. It was the most elegant ring that I have ever seen; I loved it. Aro took my hand in his, and led me over to the new throne and sat me down on it. Right next to him, for the whole world to see. My immediate thought was not, as I may have expected, "He proposed! I'm getting married!" Instead, I was thinking "!" Aro took my hand, reading my thoughts, and chuckled. "Of course I do, my darling fiancée." The look on everyone's face was priceless when I said "Okay everyone! Let's start the wedding renovations! What, you didn't think I was going to get married here when it looked so gloomy?!" As I laughed, people around me started grinning. I relaxed. This was just what everyone needed. A fresh start.


	7. Fey Forever

There had been renovations going on at the main hallway for six months. I knew it wasn't really that long a time, considering we were going to live for eternity, but I was still shocked to know that something like this could take so long. We had to renovate at human speed, because it was such a human-filled public space. And Oh My God humans renovate slowly. The huge arches that arced all the way up the walls had the concrete fillers knocked out of them, so the sun shone brilliantly through the concrete rainbows. The stained glass window overhead was replaced with a huge, faceted, shimmering crystal. The effect was beautiful, shimmering waves of light that just made us glow. This was, I decided, the perfect scene for my wedding. And it was _mine_... Aro didn't care, said it was just another way for the government to keep track of us. I didn't care. To me, holy matrimony had always sounded like bliss to me.

That night, as I looked around our boudoir, I realised what I wanted to do to alleviate my boredom. I turned to my fiancée. "Aro... Sweetie..." He turned to me, with a half smile on his face. "You only call me sweetie when you want something. Whatever it is, I will give it to you – as long as it isn't speeding up the renovations!" I laughed at him and replied "No, really, I can live with the renovations. It's just... I'm getting bored." He ran at me, and when we collided I was so shocked that I fell straight onto the huge bed behind me. He looked into my ruby eyes and murmured tantalizingly "If you were bored, why didn't you say so?" I stifled a laugh when I felt his "eagerness" on my thigh. "Well, I can't deny you this now can I love?" And with that I floated away in a sea of pleasure.

When we resurfaced the next morning I finally remembered what I meant to ask. "Aro. Can I throw a costume party?" He whipped around. "Why?!" He looked horrified, not something I had expected. "Well," I whispered, a little embarrassed, "I like them. But, if you don't want to, that's okay..." He walked to my side tilting my chin up so that he could look down into my face. "Anna, it's okay – I don't mind. It's just been a very... long time since my last costume party." At his pained look, my brow wrinkled, but he kissed the wrinkles away and walked out into the hallway. When I asked what he was doing, he replied "To announce the party tonight of course!" And with that I got carried away with my costume.

I went out and bought all of the things I would need – black satin, silver beads, boning, and thread. I got to work creating a beautiful dress (link w ww . nexteve . co m / images / D / F6359a . jp g) for my outfit. Once that was done, I started creating some beautiful black and silver wings (link- imagine they are black and silver =] w ww . farm 4. static . flickr . co m / 3413 / 33130241 6 89bc81d7 ba4 . j pg). There – I was now officially a dark fey – with beautiful blonde locks. Oh well. Next, I started on my makeup. Thick silver eyeliner, mascara, and eye shadow complimented my huge red eyes. My lips were silver with black specks. Then I went to work on my hair. I dyed it with a washout dye completely silver with black cheetah dots all through it. I looked spectacular. Then, I had a brilliant idea.

I went out to buy black and silver quick-dry paint. Although it takes hours to soak off, paint is marvellous on our rock like skin; and I planned to use this to my advantage. I painted myself completely black with spray paint, and then got a paintbrush. I covered it with silver paint, and flicked at myself with it so that I looked like I had a hundred tiny silver speckles. I continued to do this over my entire body. When it was dry, I put my dress back on. All I had to do now was but black ink in my eyes so that I had completely black eyes. Once I had done that, looked in the mirror.

Wow. I looked... Unnatural. That was the only way to describe me. And unnatural looked amazing on me! Just then, Aro knocked on my door. I had already taken the precaution of looking ahead to see what he was wearing, and knew he was an overly-clichéd vampire, complete with long arching fangs. I chuckled, and opened the door. And walked out, ready to party and relax.


	8. JainthePain

Identical Chapter Eight

As Aro opened the door, I was suddenly plagued by fear. Was my outfit too over the top? If I was the only one fully dressed up, I was going to die. And so was everyone else.

When I looked into Aro's beautiful, misty eyes, all of my fears disappeared. How could I care about anything but his touch, the whisper of his lips against my cheek, the gracious arm around my waist slipping a little too low, promising more later? I never could keep my mind straight around him. He was my drug, and I was so addicted.

As he walked me down to the ballroom, he looked down at me with a huge smile on his face. "What?" I asked absentmindedly, lost in the coal-coloured locks that were his hair. He replied "Nothing; I just cant get over how delectable you look in that costume… We may have to do this more often." I giggled, and shoved him – unfortunately a little too hard. I sent him flying through the flimsy stone wall. Bugger. His costume was destroyed!

He took one look at me and laughed. "Don't worry honey – now I will be a vampire in a lover's tiff." He laughed, an explosion of sound compared to my silent and still frame. He walked over to me and knelt beside me. To my embarrassment, he was still a little bit taller than me. "Anna… I know that they mean more to you. You have just rediscovered the pride and happiness that results in looking good. But, having known this pleasure for centuries, I am now in the happy place where I can, on occasion, show up hideous. _And laugh it off._"

I still couldn't look him in the eye. I couldn't believe that I had ruined what was turning out to be a great start to the night. And I continued to think similar, self-loathing thoughts, until Jane showed up. She and I had never gotten on, and I refused to let her see me snivelling in the hallway. She was dressed as a slutty cheerleader. How ridiculously cliché... Especially strange because she had the body of a ten year old. She must have gotten a padded bra or something. Ha... What a freak.

I inclined my head gracefully, knowing that an epic verbal battle was about to begin."Jane. Your costume is very... original." She lifted her lips in what was more like a baring if teeth than a smile. "Uh-huh... And exactly _what_ might you be?" I looked into her eyes, and she stared right back. Bitch. "I'm a fey, isn't it obvious? I have wings, and_ I_ am enchantingly beautiful." Ha. That got her really riled up!

Aro cut into our conversation before it got too heated. "Jane, it is always good to see you!" Sigh... My Aro was always the gentleman. Sometimes it got on my nerves. She was such a cow, why did he have to be so nice? I don't think he understands that Jane and I never had polite conversations with her. Honestly, men could be so hopeless when it came to these things.

I took his hand in mine, revelling in the feeling. His skin was a strange texture; unique, and I loved it. I pulled his head down and whispered in his ear "Aro, sweetie... I want to talk to you alone, before we go." I knew that, if we didn't excuse ourselves, Jane would follow. And I really could not be bothered dealing with that at the moment.

Aro took me to the side, into a small room, approximately the size of a movie theatre. Small is really a matter of comparison, I suppose.

I quickly thought of a reason to keep him here until Jane-the-pain-in-the-fucking-neck got bored and left. "Honey, exactly who is coming tonight?" He smiled down at me. "There are basically all of the vampires that you have met before. I invited everyone, just for you. There is one new family though, I don't know if you have heard of them. They are called the Cullens." I asked, "Who is in this family?" I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of them, or disgrace Aro.

"Well. Let me think. There are three couples and one singular boy. The first, and oldest, couple is Carlisle and Esme. They are the "parents" of the group. They seem to have no special powers, except that Carlisle has more compassion than any vampire I have ever met. Then, the next seeming oldest are Rosalie and Emmet. Emmet is exceedingly strong. Rosalie is as beautiful as Emmet is strong, so look out. Then, there is the young man, Edward. He reads minds. And there is a new couple. I have managed to gather that the male's name is Jasper, but the female remains elusive."

I smiled. Now, Jane was gone and I was well educated. I congratulated myself on the plan. I looked up at him and said "Okay. I am ready now. Let us go." And so we went, unknowingly about to change our lives... forever.


	9. Wait What!

We walked down to the thrones. The room was, as yet, filled only with the vampires who lived here. When they took in my costume, gasps filled the room. I laughed, delighted with what I saw; everyone had gone to nearly as much effort as me! Caius had even skinned a werewolf, and wore his manky pelt... Ew. As we went to stand at our thrones, the covens that did not live so close started to arrive. I oohed and aahed at some o the amazing costumes. There was one woman who had managed to create a long, shimmering mermaid tail that slithered along the ground metres behind her. One man had come as a giant, using only cardboard and his quick – even for us – movements to keep it from overbalancing.

As much as I loved the costumes, I burned with curiosity for the unknown – this "Cullen" coven. I wondered what they looked like, and shivered at the thought that Edward would be able to read my thoughts from a distance, without my permission...

And with that last, terrifying thought, in walked a vampire who appeared to be about 25. With him, came the rest of the Cullen coven, minus one couple. I wondered where Jasper and the mystery woman were, but knew that I had to greet them anyway. I walked up to Carlisle to greet him, and he momentarily stiffened. And spoke the word that will be permanently seared into my memory, for it changed the course of my life. Forever. "Alice?" I froze. And reacted. As I attacked, I saw a young man, who I assumed to be Edward, stop the others. Once I had Carlisle pinned I whispered "How do you know that name?!" And as he stood there, completely calm, I heard another set of feet come into the entrance. I dropped him and turned, wondering if this was whatever imposter that had told them about Alice.

As soon as I saw her, I stood rock still. For about 3 seconds. Then I screamed and screamed and screamed. She looked at me, and held her hands up to her face. Then she ran at me and attacked me! Me, her beloved twin sister! How... How could she?

She hissed at me "Who are you? Why do you wear my face as your own? HOW?" I looked at her. Then I looked at Edward. He seemed to be the only one who realized what was going on. I asked him a single question, and listened to the pearly ringing of my voice in the sudden silence. "Does she not remember? How can she not remember?" He looked at me and spoke. "No; she remembers nothing of her past. Who are you?" I replied, looking straight at Alice. I was far too distracted and dizzy to notice the lack of visions overwhelming us. "Who, me? Oh, I'm only your twin sister..." And then everything went black.


	10. I've never liked possesive boys

When I woke, it had only been a few moments. Aro was protectively crouched over me and the Cullens were all staring at me with shock on their faces. I stood, and was amazed at how unsteady I felt. For the first time since waking up as a monster, I actually felt like I might fall over. I slipped out of the heels and dreamily began walking back up to my room. Edward quickly ran in front of me. He snarled "Where are you going!" I serenely smiled and thought at him. _Relax. This is obviously just a dream. Alice died years ago and she can't be here. I am going to go get washed. I will see you all in 5 hours. If you are all real, which I doubt, then Aro will escort you to my rooms at 2 am. _The look on his face was priceless as he relayed the thoughts to the rest of his family. I ascended the stairs, and went to my rooms, leaving Aro staring wordlessly.

When I got to my rooms, I stripped down to nothing and went to the washbasin. I quickly washed the ink out of my eyes, and then stepped into the shower. I started the long and arduous chore of scrubbing the paint from my body using stones to rub the paint off (there are some advantages of having skin harder than rock). Just as I finished, Aro came into the bathroom. He quickly stripped and joined me. He looked deep into my eyes, and I nodded, knowing what he wanted. He quickly delved into my thoughts. When he resurfaced, he looked shocked at the depth of my feelings. He picked me up, cradling me against his chest. The water ran over us, and his smooth skin made everything feel better. "Anna... sweetheart... how do you deal with this? I have never felt anything stronger than the shock and hurt you are feeling right now." I looked up at him. "Aro, you are the one that I lean on. Please don't break down, or I don't know what will happen." He looked down at me and smiled, and the smile was full of love. I managed a weak smile back.

As I dressed myself, I thought about Alice. Was it possible that Caius had been wrong? I know he wouldn't lie to me, he loved me too much. So... maybe someone drugged her to appear dead, and stole her? But then who was the body in the graveyard? And why wasn't it in the records?

Aro stole up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close. We sat on the bed and there was nothing to say; he already knew all of my thoughts. So we just sat, with Aro stroking my hair, and I was curled up in a ball on his lap, taking comfort in the satiny smoothness of his skin. The hours seemed to fly by; soon it was only an hour until Edward and his family arrived. I caught that thought and examined it – why did I say Edward and his family? There was Alice, and of course their coven leader, Carlisle...

I didn't have much time to ponder, however: they would all be here soon and I would be looking my best. As I slipped into a black and purple dress that reached the floor, I looked in the mirror, and snarled. Aro came rushing in, wondering what was wrong – but I didn't notice, too irritated at the snarly ball that was my hair. I attacked it with the brush, and it eventually calmed enough that I let Aro take over. As he was brushing I did a quick once-over to see if I had forgotten anything. I hadn't - I was as ready as I ever would be to face the Cullens.

Aro left to escort the Cullens in. While he was gone, I managed to calm myself down, and almost looked normal when I heard a timid knock on my door. I let them in, and Aro wisely took his leave. I welcomed them all in and they sat on my selection of antique chaise lounges. Alice was the first one to speak. "You said... you were my sister? Do you know why I don't remember anything? Why I can see the future? Why our parents pretended we were dead as soon as we got into the asylum? Were we both even in the asylum?" I almost managed to smile at her nervous enthusiasm, and looked around at the other vampires. I was not pleased with what I saw. Jasper, who appeared to be Alice's boyfriend, was glaring at me.

"What is it?" I asked him keeping my tone icy cool. His voice burst out of him, like he wanted to get anything to do with me out of himself as fast as possible. "You must be an imposter. There is no way my Allie would forget someone so important!" Jasper suddenly seemed to completely lose it, and walked menacingly toward me. He kept talking, digging himself even deeper. "YOU are the imposter, just some little freak who happens to look like MY Alice." And with that, I suddenly desired them to know who I really was and for them to quake in fear... So far, they all thought Aro's love was fatherly love. It was time to remove that incomprehension. "How dare you speak to me like that! I am Anna, Queen of the Volturi, engaged to Aro, King of the Volturi, and _you will not speak to me that way!_" They all gasped and shrank away, and suddenly I was ashamed for making them feel that way. "Look, I'm sorry. I've just had a long day... I found out my twin was alive, when all of a sudden you have a spaz attack about me being an imposter, and Aro is being strange because of it... " Carlisle spoke then, in a gentle calming voice that I quite liked. "We are sorry too. We seem to have jumped to conclusions when it comes to you... If you could tell us your story, then that would surely sort everything out?"

I sighed, realizing it was going to be a long night. "Okay. Allie and I were born about 5 months into the pregnancy. The local priest had tried to abort us, but we turned out to be half vampires and so we managed to survive – that is why we are still so tiny though. We grew up together, until we were 16, with a physically abusive father who knew we were not his. Whenever we looked into each other's eyes, we would have a vision that would always come true. On our 16th, we had a terrible one, one that knocked us out for days... And when I woke up, I was alone, and our real Father had come for me. He said my gift was marginally stronger, so he would turn me now, and let yours grow for a bit. He turned me, from a half to a full vampire, and we lived together for many years. Once I had gotten over my newborn stage, I asked about you, and he told me you had died, and I sat by your gravestone in the old abandoned asylum for days, not moving. Then I met Aro, and we fell in love. That's pretty much the short condensed version. Now, will you tell me your story?"

Alice looked at me, and I couldn't stand it. I ran to her, and so quickly that no-one stopped me, I hugged her tight to me. As soon as I felt her body on mine, so familiar and yet so strange, I burst out sobbing. She became the comforter, and I almost thought that we could be just like the old days; but then someone butted in. Jasper. "How do we know she is telling the truth? She could have put her in the Asylum and just be lying about this to get us into a stronger alliance with the Volturi!". Excuse me? He was about to DIE! How could he think that he could do this to me? How could he think that I was faking this love that I felt for her? How could he even THINK about ACCUSING me of THIS? Edward looked at Jasper, and the look on his face was apprehensive. "Jazz, maybe you should back off..." "NO! I'm sick of just trusting her. How do we know she is telling the truth? She is probably the one who caused Alice's amnesia! I don't care what you say; there is no way that this could be true!" I took one look at him, and was hit with an unstoppable vision.

_I see Jasper, in the vampire wars; I see him killing, killing, always killing; I see him run far away. I see him meet Allie, and they stay together... They meet the Cullens... I see a young human... and a... Baby? I see Jasper never believing me, and challenging me, and my pride not letting me refuse... I see us, fighting, too fast for the human eye to see... He wins. And... I'm dead. He laughs, and walks away from the bonfire that was once me._

I came out, to watch them all staring at me. Except for Edward, who was looking at Jasper. "You really hate her that much?" Jasper looked at me. "Dont fake visions; that just makes me hate you more." I cringed back, suddenly afraid of this monster. There was no way I could ever stay with Alice now... The pain of my new realization crystallized, condensing into a sharp, jagged dagger tearing into my heart. I looked at Alice and looked into her eyes. "I will always love you Ally... I wish that Jasper could accept me. But, one day, he will kill me... " I left, barely able to hold back my sobs and screams. I made my way to the beach, to a small cave far above any human's ability to climb. And once there, I let my grief show itself, and retreated back into my mind and heart.

Alice POV.

As I looked at Jasper I felt ready to burst. And burst I fucking well did. "What the HELL gives you the right to do this to me? You're fine; you know what you did as a human. I have no FUCKING idea, and you tell MY TWIN that she has to leave? And now all of the Volturi are going to hate us! I hate you! You had better stay the hell away from me, Jasper, if you value your life. Edward, I need to talk to you. Now. Non optional." As the whole family stared at me, shocked, I dragged Edward out of the room and took him with me to a private room, far away from the rest of the family. He looked at me, and read my mind. "As far as I can tell, she loves you more than anything or anyone.. including any of us. She was remembering all of the times you have spent together. And one thing, the only thing really concrete, was the name of your father..." As I looked at him, I was so scared to know this. I really hoped that I could know him... He spoke again. "Your father was..." I wanted to kill him for hesitating; I needed to know! He must have read my mind because he replied pretty quickly after that. "He was Caius, Allie. I'm sorry. I know he isn't what you hoped." Oh. My. God. As I tried to process this, my memories seemed unlocked, in a mess of visions and a haze of shadow surrounded my vision.

I remembered growing up with my beloved twin; we did everything together. I remember childhood spats and complaining about doing chores. I remembered our dirt bag stepfather and our beautiful mother. Oh, god; I was just remembering her now. She is dead. I will never get to see her again. I will never see my childhood friends, or the friends of my mothers, the ones who would slip us lollies at church; the pastor who used to help us deal with Dad when he was out of hand. The kind doctor that would give us lollipops for being good girls and helping mommy come in when she was almost too badly beaten to move. As waves of grief surrounded me, I heard a similar voice inside me head, grieving for me. As I receded into myself, I called to that voice and my twin answered. "What is it? How can we be talking?". I replied "I don't know... I don't care... They are all gone; oh I miss them so bad..." As I was speaking to her, I saw where she was, and wanted to be there. Just as I thought this, I was there. I didn't even care enough to notice; I was just glad that she was with me. We curled up into a ball; the yin to my yang. And we grieved for all that had been taken from us.


End file.
